Preview: 2013 Aston Martin Rapide S

Who knew four doors could look this good?

By David Booth, National Post

Originally published: March 21, 2013

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The premise behind the recent rash of “four-door coupes” is simple. We Boomers are a spoiled and vainglorious lot and, while we very much appreciate the practicality of four doors, we don’t much like what the squarish three-box design says about our studly selves. The solution, according to automotive designers, has been to coupe-ify the sedan, thus maintaining the versatility of said four doors but streamlining the rear roofline so that it appears more comely.

The results have been mixed. Oh, the Audi A7 is fêted by pretty much one and all as a stylistic triumph. On the other hand, one suspects that, were Ferdinand Porsche able to rise from his grave, even he would not find his eponymous Panamera handsome. The one common denominator, however, that links them is that they all look more like hatchbacks (or, if you’re an old fart like me, fastbacks) than coupes. And while consumer reception may have varied widely, none really look all that coupe-ish and none are nearly as attractive as the coupes those same high-end companies produce.

Except for Aston Martin’s Rapide.

Indeed, not only does the Rapide look completely coupe-like (many a bystander is shocked when you open the rear doors), it is, in this admittedly hardly-fashion-aware scribe’s opinion, better-looking than the coupes — both Vantage and DB9-based — that make up the rest of the Aston Martin lineup. In stretching the VH4 platform, Marek Reichman, Aston’s head designer (who just so happens to share his name with the Polish designer of the DB’s original 3.7-litre inline six), has made the Rapide appear lower and more streamlined than the company’s actual coupes. The long, graceful arch rearward, along with the lack of any B-pillar, makes the Rapide look lower than its two-door counterpart despite being almost 80 millimetres taller than the two door DB9.

So, you’re asking, why isn’t there a Rapide in every rich snob’s driveway?

According to Aston Martin, one of the problems is that the basic Rapide wasn’t perceived as sporty enough, viewed as too “limousine-like” according to insiders, though quite how 470 horsepower and an all-aluminum chassis translates into limousine-like is beyond me. But we can at least be thankful for the result of Aston’s upgrade, the recently released Rapide S.

Essentially, the S model is the Rapide Vanquish-ized. Aston stuffs the most potent of its recently variable-valve-timed 6.0L V12 under the hood, lowers said engine by 19 mm for a lower centre of gravity and festoons the drivetrain with all manner of go-faster goodies — six-piston Brembo brakes and a fourth-generation electronically adaptive suspension.

If the intention was to make the Rapide more aggressively sporty, then Aston has been successful. The V12, already a gem, gains both horsepower — 80, up from 470 hp to a seriously Porsche-beating 550 — and attitude. Gun the engine past 3,000 rpm and all manner of guttural expostulations emanate from the big V12 but without all the Ferrari and Lamborghini look-at-me angst. Aston says those newfound 80 ponies lop 0.4 seconds of the big four-door’s zero-to-100 kilometres an hour acceleration time (now 4.7 seconds versus 5.1) but the real reason you’ll want this engine is aural rather than factual. Engineers from Audi, Mercedes and, most recently, BMW will tell you that there’s nothing a V12 can do that a turbocharged V8 can’t. On the other hand, engineers are notoriously tone-deaf.

Indeed, though it still sacrifices a few ponies to its Ferrari counterpart (the indescribably ugly FF), the only thing really lacking in the Rapide S’s powertrain is a modern double-clutch manumatic transmission. Oh, the six-speed ZF “Touchtronic 2” automatic shifts plenty smoothly — and, unlike so many other automatics, it will hold a gear right until redline — but it’s somehow not nearly as precise as a modern double-clutcher. And, besides, a few extra gears wouldn’t go remiss either, possibly cutting down on the 19.8 litres per 100 kilometres fuel consumption my S averaged during my afternoon of Aston Martining.

Of course, much of said afternoon was spent strafing L.A.’s Angeles Crest Highway, one of the longest twisty roads in a state known for long and twisty roads. One of the many California canyon roads that rewards precision and balance over power, Angeles Crest is a regular proving ground for automakers (while we were hooning about, we spotted a gaggle of camouflaged as-yet-unveiled BMWs). It’s tight, twisty and one doesn’t generally hare after Ducatis and Kawasakis here in anything with four doors.

But scurry after a swarm of superbikes we did, the big Rapide hanging on to the back of the screaming crotch rockets with steely resolve. Suspension and engine controller in Sport mode (the Track option would seem completely unnecessary on even the curviest roads), the body remains flat and the front tires stick like glue, the two prime prerequisites to playing silly buggers on any mountain road. One can take liberties with the Rapide that would be unthinkable in traditional sedans. And while other sporty four-door coupes — notably Porsche’s Panamera and BMW’s M5 — might prove as rapid, both are blunderbusses in comparison relying on grip and turbochargers, rather than delicacy of steering, to make haste. It’s not a stretch to say the Rapide emulates its coupe cousins on the road as well as their styling; a Vantage V8 tested over the very same roads held no obvious advantage.

Of course, nothing comes without its tithe exacted and, in the case of the Rapide, the price for all that stylistic purity and impeccable road manners is the actual utility of those rear seats. In truth, they are almost as coupe-like as the car’s styling. Oh, they are plenty supportive and there is actually more than sufficient headroom, at least for my 5-foot-11 frame. And that’s without those in the front shoving their seats so far forward that knees meet chins.

Nonetheless, there is a certain closeness to the rear accommodations that are best described as cocoon-like. The seats are actually quite comfy, but there’s just no wiggle room to shift positions or relieve pressure points. In other words, the Rapide S will indeed transport four adults in comfort, but only as far as the theatre. Those aforementioned rear doors mean that those ensconced in the rear can make a decorous exit that would be impossible even in the largest of luxury coupes. But the rear of a Rapide is not a place to transport anyone — friends especially — for week-long getaways. Like its performance, the Rapide’s rear seat comfort bridges the gap between coupe and sedan; more accommodating than a 2+2, but less commodious than a traditional sedan. It is not so much a sedan made sporty but rather a sports car offering some (emphasis on some) of the practicality of a saloon. As a final note, the rear seats do fold down at the touch of a button, giving the Rapide a truly spacious cargo area, almost triple the standard 886 litres, Aston Martin says.

The interior is, of course, extremely hedonistic. The hides used throughout the cabin are positively palatial while the dashboard has been given much the same update as the recently introduced Vanquish; all the plastic bits are done in highly polished piano black, there’s a new instrument pack and also an upgraded navigation/entertainment system. This last is much appreciated — especially the Bang & Olufsen sound system complete with its quickly-becoming-de-rigueur pop-up tweeters — but the Garmin navi system isn’t quite as feature-laden as comparable bespoke systems.

So, does the $210,500 Rapide fulfill its mandate as a semi-practical sedan? It depends on how much you like your friends. Do you really spend that much time with four adults in your car? Do you really care if they’re comfortable? Or are you just looking for something to get you and another down to La Bohème without the trials and tribulation of fiddling with the seat releases? Being the insensitive sort, I think they should be damned happy just to be in an Aston.

What one gets for that compromise is what Aston officially calls the “world’s most beautiful four-door sports car.” They really didn’t need the qualifier.